South Main Baptist Church in Houston wrapped up its annual Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls® drive on Sunday, the culmination of the largest church shoe drive through Buckner each year. The congregation works and plans for months for its shoe drive and the results are astounding. This year, the church donated 7,000 pairs of new shoes. That's 7,000 lives that are going to be changed through Buckner ministries in the United States and around the globe. 

You read that correctly. 7,000 pairs of shoes. 

What's more amazing is the church packed all of them into boxes and loaded them into a truck in less than 90 minutes. 

How does a church pull off such a Herculean effort?

1. It starts with people who care immensely about vulnerable children and families. South Main members serve the vulnerable locally in their communities. Many of them have been on a Buckner mission trip. Service is central to what South Main strives to be. Deacon Damon Ankenman shared, "It's what we're suppposed to do in church. We're supposed to help people. We're supposed to take care of people. That's the biggest thing that can possibly happen."

2. They live out their belief of the importance of serving vulnerable children and families by working hard. Make no mistake, a shoe drive of this size requires months and months of strategizing, planning and hard work. Leaders continually examine the process and fine-tune each step to make it more efficient. On Sunday alone, many of South Main's members invested sweat equity on a hot Sunday afternoon to box and load the truck. For South Main, the effort is worth it for children to have a new pair of shoes that will protect their feet and allow them to go to school.

3. Everyone can pitch in. When something is important, it's important enough to pass on to the next generation. That's why South Main empowers every age group in the congregation to participate in the shoe drive. As a result, packing day is electric. The room buzzed with energy. Young and old people came together to help each other throughout the process. Children see how churches are called by God to help vulnerable children. Future leaders are built through service.

Check out some additional photos from the day: